Kimchi- Fermented and Pickled

Wow, has it really been that long since I canned anything? I guess my canning cupboard is looking pretty bare.. Hopefully I'll be able to replenish my supplies before I've got a new baby in the house.

Luckily, my awesome in-laws gave us this Perfect Pickler for Christmas this year, that has inspired me to get back on track with my hobby of jarring foods. It's also exciting for me to be learning something new- the process of fermentation. This little gadget couldn't make it any easier and more fun!

 I began with the recipe for kimchi from the Perfect Pickler website, which you can find here. But, to be honest, this recipe doesn't seem to me nearly as flavorful as it should be, and it made waaay more than one jar (I only have one Perfect Pickler). With the remainder, I added tons more garlic, ginger, sambal, and even two ghost peppers that we had lying around. Unfortunately, when I went to my herb garden for scallions, they were all dried up, so if you make this, you may want to add a few sliced scallions to the recipe.

1 head Napa Cabbage, cut into 1" squares
1 lb. daikon radish, half-mooned and very thinly sliced
1 head garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup grated ginger root
1/4 cup sambal (more or less, to taste)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp fish sauce

2 cups water
2 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sea salt

4 sanitized pint jars, lids and rings

In a large mixing bowl, toss cabbage, daikon, garlic, ginger, sambal, sugar and fish sauce. In a medium pot, bring water, vinegars and salt to a boil. Pack cabbage into jars and top with brine. Attach lids and rings and process for 10 minutes.

The canned kimchi is definitely going to be wicked-hot, and garnishing all sorts of food like pho (and probably eaten as a snack in itself). I am, however, skeptical about the fermented kimchi. The recipe didn't seem authentic enough to me, and time will tell how much of a fan I am of fermented foods. I'll be sure to post back in a few days to let you know how it turns out!

*Update (1/11/12): The fermented kimchi stayed in the cabinet for 4 days before we tasted it. It had a perfect sourness, however, lacked spiciness and overall flavor. When I make it again I will definitely douse the cabbage in much more chili paste, ginger and garlic. The pickled kimchi is quite good, but more vinegary than a traditional kimchi. The upside of this method is that it can be made in large batches, and kept in the pantry for long periods of time. In the future I will be refining both methods, for they both taste great and will have their own place in our dishes.

Blushing Peach Jam

It's sweet summer peach with a lime zing- this jam is so damn sexy it will make you blush.

5 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings
2 lbs. ripe peaches
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp lime juice
3 cups sugar
1 box powdered pectin

Cut an X on the bottoms of the peaches. Boil for one minute and then blanch. Here's a trick, if you don't know this one, yet:





Peel and chop peaches. In a medium pot, simmer peaches and water for 5 minutes, stirring often. Use a stick blender to smooth out the jam. Add lime juice and sugar and boil until sugar is dissolved. Add pectin and boil hard for one minute. Test the set- it should look like this on a frozen plate:

Ladle into jars, wipe rims, attach lids and rings and process for ten minutes.

Quadruple Dog-Dare Ya' Berry Jam

Joe actually made this one, but it is so freakin' incredible I am sharing it here. I quadruple dog dare ya' to try it spooned over chocolate ice cream.

6 1/2 pint sterilized jars, lids and rings
1 quart strawberries
1 pint blueberries
2 cups raspberries
1 cup blackberries
2 Tbsp lemon juice
5 cups sugar
1-2 packets powdered pectin

Wash all berries and hull strawberries. Mash berries and lemon juice in a pot over medium heat. When berries begin to get juicy and warm add sugar and simmer five minutes. Add 1 package pectin and boil for one minute. Remove from heat and test for the set. Add more pectin if necessary and re-test for the set. When it is set to desired thickness ladle into jars, wipe rims, attach lids and process for ten minutes.

Jalapeno Jelly

Wow, sorry guys. Life got kinda' hectic there for a while, but we're all settled into the new house now and I'm ready to start canning the summer bounty that is upon us! As today happens to be National Can-it-Forward Day, I thought it would be a great chance to get back in the swing of things. Canning in my "new" kitchen is so relaxing now that I have space to work. I expect to be canning a lot more often now, especially for a new start-up project my friend, co-worker, and fellow mom Matteson McCay have recently begun- Jammin' Mamas. So far we have successfully sold Strawberry Preserves and Mango Jelly. I have a feeling this Jalapeno Jelly is going to be a big hit, too!

Recipe taken from Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving:

6 1/2 pint sterilized jars, lids and rings
3/4 lb jalapenos, seeded and chopped
2 cups apple cider vinegar
6 cups sugar
2 pouches (1 box) liquid pectin

Puree jalapenos with one cup vinegar in food processor. In a medium pot, add puree to the remaining cup of vinegar and sugar and bring to a simmer for ten minutes. Add pectin and bring to a rolling boil for one minute. Ladle into jars, wipe rims, attach lids and rings and process for ten minutes.

Serve over Philadelphia Cream Cheese with Ritz crackers.

Hamburger Pickles

Instead of bringing the same old macaroni salad to a picnic this summer, why not contribute your own homemade Hot Dog Relish and Hamburger Pickles?!

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a garden, but most of us will probably, at least once in a summer, end up with a grocery bag full of some vegetable that a friend just too many to know what to do with. If that bags happens to be cucumbers, I can't think of anything better to whip up and share than a few jars of pickles.

This recipe is adapted from the Ball Book guide to preserving.

3 pint jars or 6 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings, sterilized
6 pounds cucumbers, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup canning salt
1 Tbsp turmeric
1 quart plus 3 cups apple cider vinegar
1 quart plus 1 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
1 1/4 inch by 1 inch piece ginger
1 Tbsp mustard seeds
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
1 tsp whole cloves

Put cucumber slices in a large bowl; sprinkle with salt; mix thoroughly. Let stand 3 hours. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly. Combine turmeric, 3 cups vinegar and 1 quart water in a sauce pot; brine to a boil; pour over cucumbers. let stand until cold; drain. Taste cucumbers; if too salty, rinse thoroughly; drain. Combine granulated sugar, 1 quart vinegar and 1 cup water in a large sauce pot. Tie spices in a spice bag; add to pickling liquid. Simmer 15 minutes; pour pickling liquid over cucumbers. Refrigerate overnight. Discard spice bag and drain pickles, reserving pickling liquid. Bring pickling liquid to a boil. Pack jars with pickles, pour over liquid leaving a 1/2 inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust caps and process 10 minutes in a water bath canner.

Pickled Onions in Basic Brine

Whoa, I'm waaaay behind on my blog posts now, so I'm going to blast through these next couple recipes in order to tell you all about something really exciting in my little world of canning..

This brine recipe is great for pickling any fruit or vegetable. This time I filled my jars with red and Vidalia onion and fresh sliced garlic, then processed for ten minutes.

Basic Brine:

4 cups water

4 cups apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup canning salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 piece cinnamon bark

1 Tbsp black peppercorns

1 Tbsp mustard seeds

2 cracked juniper berries

1 clove

1 bay leaf

Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer on low until you are ready to fill your jars.

*Some recipes add allspice, dill or coriander. I've also substituted brown sugar for the granulated when I wanted a more caramel note in the flavor. You can play around with different combinations until you have something that suits your palate. Have fun!

Coriander Onion Marmalade

Thanks to Mother's Kitchen for inspiring this delicious onion marmalade with coriander and Clementine zest. The zest we had left from making My Darling Clementine's Marmalade, but I'm sure any citrus zest would pair well with coriander. We had this on Greek-spiced roast chicken and it was incredible!

Onion Marmalade
3 sterilized 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 lbs julienne Vidalia onions
1 lb julienne red onion
1 Tbsp garlic and ginger paste
2 tsp toasted, ground coriander
1 Tbsp dried Clementine zest
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 package powdered pectin

Heat oil in a pot and saute onions on low until translucent. Add garlic and ginger paste, coriander, zest, sugar, salt and orange juice. Cook on low for 30 minutes. Stir in vinegar. Add pectin in small increments until it reaches a thick, jam-like consistency. Pack into jars and process 10 minutes.

Greek Spice Rub
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp course salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 Tbsp lemon juice
olive oil to taste

Mix spices and lemon juice. Drizzle in enough olive oil to make a paste. Use on chicken, lamb, or pork.

Hot Dog Relish

One can only have so much cucumber salad- so here's a recipe for relish that will last you all through grilling season!

4 sterilized 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings
4 cups small diced cucumber
2 minced garlic cloves
2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
4 Tbsp sugar
 3 Tbsp canning salt
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp peppercorns
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cm cinnamon stick
1/2 clove

Bring water, sugar and all seasonings to a boil. Cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Stuff jars with diced cucumber and garlic, strain brine and pour into jars. Process 10 minutes.

Cream Cheese Dill Bread

Now that I have a Kitchen Aid, I'm not sure how I ever lived without one! Along with pizza crust and banana bread, Joe used it to grind lamb for a delicious Moussaka. This month Mother's Kitchen challenged us to use dried dill in a recipe, so I whipped together this Cream Cheese Dill Bread. It is easy to make, and comes out looking very impressive. This biscuit-like bread is great to tear into big chunks and sop up soup or plate juices.

2 tsp yeast
5 Tbsp warm water
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp dried dill
2/3 cup cream cheese at room temp
2 small diced onions
2 beat eggs
4 Tbsp butter

Sprinkle yeast in water, let it stand 5 minutes. Saute onions in 1 tablespoon butter then cool. In a mixer with a paddle attachment mix flour, salt and dill.  Add cream cheese, onions and remaining butter and mix until it looks like pie dough. Drizzle in eggs and yeast water and mix on low for 5 minutes. Let stand, covered, in a warm place for 1/2 hour. Knead for 1 minute. Form into balls in a greased pan and let it stand again for another 1 1/2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 45 minutes.

Swedish Cardamom Breakfast Bread

This bread is the Frankenstein's Monster of breads. It's a weird, delicious combination of a raised bread, a cinnamon roll and a croissant with an European filling thrown in for good measure. It contains a full pound of butter, so even if you fudge it a bit, you know it will still be incredible. The directions may seem complicated at first, but if you read through them well, and stay organized, it's actually pretty easy.

2 eggs
1 package dry yeast
3/4 cup water- 115 degrees
4 cups a.p. flour
1 tsp salt
10 crushed cardamom seeds
2 tbsp plus 1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup plus 1/2 cup plus 1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup blanched, sliced almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp milk
In one small bowl beat eggs; in another mix yeast and water. Chill yeast in refrigerator 5 minutes then mix with eggs. In a large bowl mix flour, salt, cardamom and 2 tablespoons sugar. Cut in 1/2 cup butter, then mix in yeast and egg mixture. Bring together to form a ball and knead for 2 minutes. Cover with a towel and let rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Roll dough out into a large rectangle. Smear on 1 cup butter.

Fold dough into thirds, flip and roll out to a rectangle. Repeat this 3 more times, ending with a dough folded in thirds. Cover and chill for 2 more hours. Meanwhile, mix on high 1/2 cup butter, confectioner's sugar, almonds, cinnamon and vanilla extract to make filling. Roll dough out to a rectangle and spread filling over center portion of dough.




Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll up dough, lay out on a greased pan in a ring.






Beat egg yolk with milk. Use scissors to cut segments, brush with egg and milk mix, sprinkle with sugar and bake 25 minutes.

Lip Smackin' Strawberry Jam

Sometimes you just want an unadulterated classic. Last year I was so excited to be making something new that I got a bit carried away with my flavor combinations. This year I'm concentrating on quality: great flavor, color, and the proper "set". I want a jam that's done the right way, a jam that you would expect to come home from the fair with a blue ribbon. This is that jam.

6 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings
3 pints strawberries
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Cups sugar
2 packages powdered pectin

Wash jars and store in a 200 degree oven. Hull and quarter strawberries. Cook strawberries on medium heat until they soften and begin to release water. Use a potato masher to mash strawberries in the pot. Add vanilla and sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Add pectin 1/2 box at a time until is properly set. Ladle into jars, wipe rims and attach lids and rings. Process 10 minutes.

Marmalade de Pamplemousse Rouge

Well, here we are in marmalade season, again! We're back to work and busy with the little one, but managed to make this at the end of January. Despite there being no canjam this year, I'm making a personal goal of canning one local ingredient and making one specialty bread every month.We kept this one local by using Florida's Ruby Red Grapefruit; I named it so just because I love saying the word "pamplemousse". Honey and a hint of vanilla complement this bitter-sweet jam, and the set came out absolutely perfect! We are very happy with this marmalade and plan on using it on everything sweet to savory.

Marmalade de Pamplemousse Rouge :
6 Florida Ruby Red grapefruit
1/2 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups sugar
1 1/2 boxes fruit pectin

Pour boiling water over grapefruit and scrub with a vegetable brush to remove any remaining wax. Slice fruit in half and juice into bowl. Pour juice through a strainer into a medium cooking pot and press juices from pulp into pot. This should yield roughly six cups of juice. Begin heating juice on medium low. While juice is heating, cut peels in half and remove all traces of membrane with the back of a spoon.  Cut in half lengthwise and again width wise, and julienne finely until you have about two cups.  Add peels to juice and bring to boil on medium high, skimming acidic foam periodically with a ladle.  Cook until peels are translucent and tender, about  30 minutes. Add honey, vanilla and sugar and return to boil. Cook until sugar is fully dissolved.  Add 1 box of pectin slowly while boiling.  Check for set and slowly add additional pectin as needed and until marmalade is set.  Let rest for a few minutes, then ladle into hot jars and process for ten minutes.


 Orange-Almond Bread:
1 Cup sugar
5 Tbsp butter, room temperature
3/4 Cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 Clementines zest + juice
1 Cup a.p. flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
 1 slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together sugar and butter. Stir in milk, egg, vanilla and orange juice and zest. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Combine wet and dry ingredients then stir in nuts. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake 50-60 minutes.

Rosemary & Sun-Dried Tomato Fococcia

Having a one-month old baby makes it a bit difficult to find time for canning. Because my My Darling Clementine's Marmalade was such a big hit with our family and The Danske's (our Danish exchange student's family) Joe made another batch. He also managed to find time to make ten more jars of Giardiniera; the two of us alone can kill one jar as an appetizer. But I won't be posting on these. Let it suffice to say that pretty much any medley of vegetables can be pickled in any combination of vinegars and taste great.

This post is really about something new, something that came about after receiving a KithenAid from my Father-in-law (I am very lucky to have awesome in-laws), something I've been wanting to learn for a while: bread-making. Simultaneously, I've joined another blog-based year long challenge- The Spice Rack Challenge. Therefor, I'm attempting to put these together and make one bread per month containing the secret spice ingredient. Here we go!

Rosemary & Sun-Dried Tomato Fococcia
1/2 + 4 cups a.p. flour
1 tsp yeast
3/4+ 1 cup warm water
2 tsp table salt
3 Tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 tsp+ 1 tsp crushed, dried rosemary
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sea salt

 In a mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup warm water and yeast. Cover bowl with a clean towel and hold in oven overnight (to make the next morning), or all day (to make in the evening). 

With a dough hook attachment, add 1 cup warm water,  table salt, tomatoes and rosemary, mix well on setting #1. Slowly add in 4 cups flour until incorporated, turn setting to # 2 and knead for 5 minutes. Place dough in a bowl coated in 1 Tbsp olive oil, cover with towel and place in oven for 1 1/2 hours to rise.

 Preheat oven to 475. On a lightly floured table, press dough out with fingers into a rectangle shape about 10" * 13". Move to a lightly greased sheet pan, drizzle with remaining olive oil, sea salt and remaining rosemary.  Bake for 15 minutes until golden-brown and delicious. Cut into squares for sandwiches or soup-dipping.

This bread is super easy and provided you have a mixer, not time consuming at all. Sure, all together it takes 10 hours, but very little of that time is spent giving the bread any attention. Just throw together the yeast mixture in the morning, pop it in the oven. Later on, whirl it together, spread it out and bake it. Bread-making leaves plenty of time for feeding, playing and napping!

My Darling Clementine's Marmalade

It's hard to believe it was a year ago that I decided I was going to take on a new venture: canning. I really don't remember what gave me the idea, a craving for some childhood dish, a desire to save money, to preserve family heirloom recipes, or perhaps it was all wrapped up in something bigger.. Maybe this yearning for things ancestral was going hand in hand with another decision my husband and I were making at the time- the decision to start a family?
In any case, it was only a couple months after I recieved a blue-speckled canner from my grandmother that I was given a sonogram proving my healthy pregnancy.
The whole nine months was a blessing. I had an easy first trimester with little morning sickness, an energetic second trimester that I used to prepare for our little one (and stock the pantry with quite a few canned items), and a third trimester in which I was able to continue working right up until the end. I even spent the last night of my pregnancy making this marmalade in honor of the pending arrival of our precious Clementine Jane.
My Darling Clementines are a tiny citrus fruit that shows up in small crates around Christmas time. They are seedless and have a very floral scent, making them a great fruit for marmalade.

6 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings
1 case Darling Clementines
1 cup water
3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 box pectin

Cut clementines in half through the equator, juice. Cut each half in half again and scrape out membranes with a knife, discard. Slice peel very thinly, about 1/16". Bring juice, water and peel to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Add sugar, vanilla and pectin and cook at a high boil until marmalade is set. Let sit for 5 minutes for the peel to distribute evenly, ladle into jars, attach lids and rings and process for 10 minutes.

Sundried Tomato Gazpacho Salsa

In the spirit of the holiday season- and our current "frugality"- we decided make our December with things that we already had available to us, as opposed to going out and shopping for ingredients. (See also Spicy Pickled Watermelon Rind). It may or may not be a stretch to use tomatoes as a fruit; technically they are, and we had plenty to play around with. While consulting our trusty Flavor Bible, we came up with the idea for a gazpacho, but more concentrated. The flavor affinities kept bringing us back to this dish, especially because Gazpacho almost always contains lemon juice,and/or vinegar. We increased the acidity so we could can it and balanced it with brown sugar to give it a really nice, rich depth of flavor. Can be used as a condiment (maybe for a nice piece of fish or chicken), salsa or it could also be made into a great bowl of gazpacho with the addition of some V8.

4 sterilized 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings

1 medium green bell pepper
1 sweet vidalia onion
1 large fresh tomato
8 sun-dried tomatoes
1 medium cucumber
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
pinch black pepper
pinch cayenne pepper

1 6oz. can tomato paste
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

Small dice pepper, onion, tomatoes, and cucumber; mince garlic. In a 4 quart pot heat oil and saute veggies on medium. Add salt, pepper and cayenne and continue cooking just until vegetables have softened, about 10. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan mix tomato paste, red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer while whisking to incorporate. Add vinegar mixture to vegetables and mix well. If mixture is too thick and might contain air bubbles, feel free to add a little tomato juice,red wine or a little water to loosen it up. Remember to adjust your seasonings to taste when diluting recipe for canning. Ladle into sterilized jars, wipe rims, attach lids and rings; process 10 minutes.

Spicy Pickled Watermelon Rind

This is one I've been wanting to try since way back in July when we canned cucurbits for . Once again, I'm stretching our ideal of "fruit" to include peppers, because I had the brine (leftover from these hot peppers), the watermelon rind (normally gets thrown out at work every day), and spices (always a cabinet staple), all available to me at no cost. I'm quite excited to taste the results, as I've never tried pickled watermelon rind, before!

3 sterilized pint jars, lids and rings

3 cups sliced watermelon rind

2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp canning salt
1 pinch fresh nutmeg

6 Indian dried chili peppers (red chilies from India similar to cayenne)
1 stick cinnamon (broken into 3)
1 star anise (broken into 3)
1 1/2 tsp fresh chopped ginger
3 allspice berries

Bring vinegar, water, brown sugar, salt, and nutmeg to a boil. Cover and set aside. Divide peppers, cinnamon, star anise, ginger and allspice berries among 3 sterilized jars. Stuff watermelon rind tightly into jars and fill with brine. Wipe rims, attach lids and rings and process 10 minutes.

Pom-Apple "Sauce"

As a chef, I'm always striving to improve my culinary abilities. While I think I have the flavor component of jam and preserve-making down, I've got a lot to learn in the "set" department. Practice makes perfect, thus I endeavored to create a preserve which would stand in for they typical cranberry jello that adorns many a Thanksgiving table; a "sauce" in the old-fashioned sense of the word, one recognizable as a traditional dinner accompaniment, but that people want to eat.

I do enjoy a chunky cranberry sauce, and wanted to include apples- this month's ingredient- to add to the texture of the jam. Originally intending to make my jam cranberry-based, I changed my mind when searching for an appropriate juice, I couldn't find a single one that didn't contain extra sugar or additives. And then I saw it: 100% pomegranate juice. It seemed to be exactly the tart flavor base I was looking for- original, yet basic enough to dress up the way I liked. For a third flavor and floral scent I threw an orange into the mix, and then laid it down with traditional holiday spices.


5 1/2 pint jars, lids and rings
24 oz. 100% pomegranate juice
3 green apples, peeled and diced
1 orange, juice and zest
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1/2 stick cinnamon
1/4 star anise
1 clove
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 box ball powdered pectin

Tie cinnamon, anise and clove in a small sachet. Combine juice, apples, orange, ginger and spices in a medium pot. Bring to a low simmer, cover and cook until apples have poached and are dark pink in color, about 15 minutes. Add sugar and pectin, turn up the heat to a medium simmer and cook until "set", about another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let the jam rest for 5 minutes. This step will ensure the apple will be evenly dispersed in the jam, instead of floating on the top of the jar. Remove sachet, ladle into 1/2 pint jars, attach lids and rings and process 10 minutes.


I am extremely happy with this jam! The balance of sweet-tartness, and the flavors of orange and traditional spices are perfect. The jars are a beautiful garnet color, with gems of apple suspended within. The set is lovely, and I'm already imagining spoonfuls of pom-apple "sauce" on turkey, stuffing and biscuits. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thai Curry Pickled Pears

The mission here was simple- a deconstructed Thai red curry paste cleverly disguised as a brine for pickled pears. While most of the ingredients in a curry paste are transferable to this sort of application, some (namely, shrimp paste) simply would not work very well. The main components are lemongrass,ginger, dried Thai bird chilies,shallots,garlic,coriander root,lime juice/zest and/or kaffir lime leaves and shrimp paste. There may be subtle differences from kitchen to kitchen but for argument sake, we picked the elements that work the best with this recipe. The fully frontal citrus notes from the ginger,lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves give these pickles an otherworldly goodness. These assertive flavors stand up well to the heat of the Thai birds and the sweetness of the brine. The aroma is fresh and the flavors are irresistible. This recipe is adapted from pickled pears in the Joy of Pickling which calls for a syrupy sort of brine so keep that in mind when building a flavor profile. The addition of coconut water is designed to compliment the red curry as it is usually paired with coconut milk in curry bowls in Thailand. If you're looking for a heavier essence of coconut, I would suggest coconut extract as it is a clear liquid like coconut water and won't make the brine cloudy. We've already munched through a jar of these addictive pickles!





6 pint jars, lids and rings
2 red anjou pears
2 green anjou pears
2 bartlett pears
2 bosc pears
1 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups coconut water
1 1/2 cups rice vinegar
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp canning salt

6 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbsp ginger, peeled and sliced
2 tbsp lemongrass, sliced
12 Thai bird chilies
12 kaffir lime leaves
1 tbsp cracked coriander seeds
1 tbsp cracked peppercorns


Cut pears into 6 slices each, remove seeds and hold in water acidulated with lemon juice. Bring water, coconut water, rice vinegar, white vinegar, sugar and canning salt to a boil, cover and hold. Divide garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chilies, lime leaves, coriander seeds and peppercorns among 6 jars. Stuff jars with pears alternating colors with the skin side out and top with brine. Attach lids and rings and process for 15 minutes.

Pa Sportman's Club Sweet-Hot Wax Peppers

When I was a very young child, living in a small coal-mining town in Western Pa, my mother helped the family scrape-by serving at the local sportsman's club. I can barely remember the place, only the lake out front which hosted local fishing contests and giant bullfrogs. But she remembers a pepper relish that was served at every table with white bread and butter, and has been asking me to make it for months now. Well, peppers are in season and the subject of this month's , so I gave it a shot, and gosh-darn is it good!

5 pint jars, lids and rings, sterilized
1 1/2# hungarian wax peppers
1/2# baby sweet peppers (added for color)
1/2 sweet onion, julienne
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
3 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp canning salt


Slice peppers into rings, removing seed pods. Mix with garlic and onion. Bring vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil. Tightly pack pepper mix into sterilized jars, fill with brine, and attach lids and rings. Process for ten minutes. Here, I'm having mine on wheat bread with cream cheese.

Kashmir Chile Pepper Chutney

Once again, I'm amazed at how different my husband and I can be. While I cooked up twelve half-pints of apple butter and 5 pints of hot pepper rings (both very simple recipes from my childhood), Joe lovingly labored over two half-pints of pepper jam, grinding his own Garam Masala in a mortar and pestle, tasting and re-tasting until perfection was achieved. And I must say, it was worth it. This chutney is incredibly well balanced in sourness, sweetness and heat, and set quite beautifully, as well. We could build an Indian feast around this jam, and probably soon will.


2 1/2 pints, lids and rings, sterilized
1# mixed peppers, including Red Bell, Poblano, Cubanelle, Serrano, Finger Hot, Jalapeno and Habanero
1/2 sweet onion
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp garlic and ginger paste
1 Tbsp garam masala spice mix (see note*)
2/3 cup rice vinegar
juice of 2 limes
1 cup sugar


Small dice peppers and onions, removing the seeds and membranes (or not for a much hotter version) from all but the fingerhot and serrano peppers. We sliced these two into thin rings. Heat oil in a small pot and sweat vegetables on medium-low heat, about ten minutes. Add garlic and ginger paste and cook another five minutes. Add spice mix, lime juice, vinegar and sugar and reduce until the chutney is thickened, about ten more minutes. Ladle into jars, attach lids and rings and process for ten minutes.



Note* Garam Masala is a warm (not hot) spice mix typical of the northwest region of India, including Kashmir and Punjab. You could buy it in an Indian market, but blending your own spices gives you a much more fresh and intense flavor, and you may also alter it according to your own tastes. Ours included, in order of mass, largest to smallest: cardamom, allspice, anise seed, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, fennel, and cloves.